Petitions
by Artemis Luna Diana
Summary: Strife is allowed to return to Olympus. Cupid-Psyche, Cupid-Strife - SLASH - Complete.
1. Strife

**Title**: Petitions (1/3)

**Author**: Artemis Luna Diana

**Email**: artemislunadiana@yahoo.com

**Rating**: PG-13 (references to sex)

**Fandom**: Xena/Herc.

**Pairing**: Cupid/Strife Cupid/Psyche

**Disclaimer**: I own not a thing.

**Warning**: reference to character death

**Summary**: Strife is allowed to return to Olympus.

**Status**: Complete

**Archive**: AJCS, all others please ask.

**Website**: and 

**Notes**:  Thanks to BlackUmbridge for the excellent beta.

// - designates flashback

* - designates communication through thoughts

***

He sat in an isolated section of Tartarus throwing small stones in random directions.  He didn't know whether or not he could be considered hiding.  He preferred to think of it as just a little 'quiet time' before his true hell would begin.  A scream ripped through the air.  Perhaps, 'quiet time' was the wrong way to phrase it….

Strife, dead God of Mischief, wrapped his arms around his legs and rested his chin on his knees.  His mother's petition would be granted today.  He was finally going to return to Olympus.  He wondered what his mother would say if she knew he'd rather not come back.  If only that stupid idiot hadn't nicked himself with that stupid arrow….  Strife closed his eyes and remembered that horrible day.

//He had drifted awake to soft kisses and teasing touches.  When he opened his eyes, he found his lover smiling down at him.  A gentle flap of soft, white wings was all the warning he got before Cupid captured his lips in a bruising kiss.  The lazy arousal he had felt upon waking shifted instantly to unbearable need.//

Strife rubbed his hands briskly across his face.  "Don't go there," he told himself.  

//When they finally managed to get themselves out of bed, they had to skip breakfast, or risk annoying their respective bosses.  

"Don't stay out all night," Cupid said between kisses.  "I've got a surprise for you."

Strife laughed.  "You say that, and just watch, I'll be the one waiting for you."

With one last hard kiss, the couple separated and left: Strife to Ares, and Cupid to Aphrodite.//

'So careful,' Strife thought miserably.  'No one ever knew.'

//"I don't want the actions and opinions of the pantheon to influence the outcome of our relationship," Cupid said earnestly.  "I don't want them scaring you off."

"Okay," Strife said after a moment.  His lips quirked in an amused smile.  "After all, if you find out the truth about me, it might scare 'you' off."//

Strife leaned back, resting his head up against the wall.  He would always wonder what he did to piss off the Fates.

//His mother flashed in, snickering, trying so hard not to collapse into hysterical laughter.  It was kind of a scary sight.

"What?" Ares finally snapped.

"Only the House of Love!" she laughed.

They listened to her laughing a few moments more, before Strife prompted, "Only the House of Love…."

"Cupid scratched himself with one of his love arrows and is chasing some mortal woman around!"

Strife didn't notice Ares reaction, he was much too disappointed.  'So much for tonight's surprise,' he thought.  He snickered though as he realized how embarrassed Cupid would be when the arrow wore off.//

"If only it had been so simple," he whispered.  

//Cupid had come back to Olympus with Psyche on his arm, and before you could blink, Psyche was a Goddess and the two were married.  He had been a little anxious for Cupid to hurry up and recover when that happened.  The whole thing was beginning to get out of control.  Cupid kept giving him odd looks, and Strife had known that he was beginning to break free from the arrow's spell.  A few days before the spell would have disappeared, Cupid and Psyche had announced they were expecting.  Strife had been incredibly hurt.  

They were always careful to make sure that neither would get pregnant.  Since Cupid and Psyche were married, they certainly hadn't been taking precautions, and it wasn't something that Strife had entertained even happening.  The situation was growing more and more complex, and Cupid had yet to shake the rest of the spell off.

The next day, Cupid had stopped looking at him.  The spell should have been almost gone, Cupid should have been seeking him out, even if he didn't quite know why.

His gaze drifted towards Psyche, and he realized what had happened.  The new Goddess of the Mind had done something to her husband to make him forget all about his former lover.  Slamming shields into place, he allowed his heart to break.//

Strife stood up.  Hades was calling him.  It was time for the petition.  He walked towards his great uncle, his thoughts still lost in memory.

When Bliss had been born, all he could think was that the boy should have been his.  Depressed and distracted, he got himself killed.  So stupid.  Of course, Cupid had not come to visit.  Why should he?  To his reckoning, Strife was just a cousin stupid enough to land himself in the Underworld permanently.  He tried not to think about them, tried not to let it hurt, but it was a useless effort.  He loved the featherbrained idiot.  Was still in love.

Hell would begin all over, sweet in its simplicity.  He would watch as his heart was shattered time and again.  His love's smile was no longer directed at him.

***

TBC…


	2. Psyche

**Title**: Petitions (2/3)

**Author**: Artemis Luna Diana

**Email**: artemislunadiana@yahoo.com

**Rating**: PG-13 (references to sex)

**Fandom**: Xena/Herc.

**Pairing**: Cupid/Strife Cupid/Psyche

**Disclaimer**: I own not a thing.

**Warning**: reference to character death

**Summary**: Strife is allowed to return to Olympus.

**Status**: Complete

**Archive**: AJCS, all others please ask.

**Website**: and 

**Notes**:  Thanks to BlackUmbridge for the excellent beta.

// - designates flashback

* - designates communication through thoughts

***

She watched as her husband chased their son around the garden, their laughter echoing up to her perch in the window.  Her expression was not one of joy or of amusement.  Instead her features were tight with worry and uncertainty.  The decision she had once made, once more had the opportunity to be implemented.  Her terror had not receded with the passage of time, but her guilt had continued to increase.  She could not live the lie anymore.

Psyche, Goddess of the Mind, carefully stood as the summons came for the day's petitions.  With a muted flash, she disappeared from her home and reappeared in the main hall of Olympus.  Her husband appeared a few moments later, having dropped their son off with a babysitter.  

She watched as Eris, Goddess of Discord, approached the King and Queen of the Gods.  Her petition was finally being granted.  Strife, her son and the God of Mischief, was being returned to Olympus.  Psyche tensed as Eris formally spoke her request, afraid that Zeus, the bastard that he was, had changed his mind.  When the request was granted, her tension increased.  Her heart pounded, and she struggled to control her breathing.

By the time Hades had summoned Strife's shade and returned it to life, she was trembling.  It was all she could do to stay standing.  Eris crying over her son did not affect her.  She could see her fellow Olympians either cringing at the realization that the God of Mischief had returned or smiling that one of their own had come back.  She glanced at her husband, the God of Love.

Cupid's face was lit by a small smile, but his brow was pinched slightly in confusion.  Psyche bit her lip as her guilt and fear threatened to overwhelm her.  Slowly she stepped forward, approaching the throne.  She could sense the surprise and the confusion of her peers and struggled to conceal her fear.  She looked down where Eris huddled clutching Strife, still weak from his return.  One look into those accusing eyes and her calm returned.  This was the right thing to do.

She stared straight at her King and Queen and spoke her petition.  "I, Psyche, Goddess of the Mind, ask that you sever the bonds of marriage between myself and my husband, Cupid, God of Love."

Cries of shock and surprise echoed through the hall, her husband's among them.  "Why do you ask this?" Hera demanded.

"Because I have committed a crime against my husband," Psyche replied.  Before anyone could label her an adulteress, she continued.  "I have erased over three decades worth of memories from his mind."

The hall fell silent for a moment, before the angry voices began.  She clearly heard Aphrodite, Goddess of Love's voice among them.  "Return my son's memories at once!"

"I will only return those memories…" she spoke, and the hall fell silent again.  "…if you grant the divorce.  If you do not, I will take the memories of this event from every single one of you."

The hall remained silent, after all what kind of response could you make to such a statement?  Hera slowly stood.  "You have broken your vows to your husband, Psyche, Goddess of the Mind.  Your marriage to Cupid, God of Love, is now void.  Return his memories to him."

Psyche closed her eyes briefly, in both relief and sadness.  She turned to her former husband, his look of betrayal agony for her.  Her eyes flashed with power, and Cupid staggered as she removed the blocks on his memory.  Aphrodite rushed to her son, trying to steady him.  They both fell to the ground.  The silence of the hall continued, anxiously watching Cupid.  Psyche's trembling returned.

"Why?" his voice heavy with suppressed tears.  "Why did you take them from me?"

Psyche struggled not to cry, and she heard Hera step forward.  "The rest should be continued in private."

"No!" Psyche snapped.  "I'd rather do this here, then to have you all gossiping behind our backs!"  Her eyes focused on her ex-husband.  "I was pregnant and terrified.  There is no other reason.  I discovered them while you were helping me learn to use my godhood.  As the affects of the arrow began to wear off and my fear increased, I decided to hide them from you."

She paused to draw a ragged breath.  "A few months after Bliss was born, I decided to tell you and remove the blocks, but then…" she hesitated then quickly decided "it" was not hers to reveal.  "…'it' happened.  I figured that it was best to leave things as they were.  But now 'it' doesn't matter anymore, and I can't stand the thought that I am the reason why you aren't happy.  You weren't happy being married to me, and I knew that, even if you didn't.  I do love you, Cupid, but you don't love me, and you never will."

"You took away the memories of a lover!" Ares snarled.

"Considering she took away over thirty years worth, I'd say it was more than just a lover," Aphrodite snapped, glaring at her ex-daughter-in-law.

"Well, who was it?" Apollo asked impatiently.

"That is not my place to say," Psyche said calmly.  She saw the careful looks that Cupid and Strife gave each other as they realized she was leaving the rest up to them.  

***

TBC…


	3. Cupid

**Title**: Petitions (3/3)

**Author**: Artemis Luna Diana

**Email**: artemislunadiana@yahoo.com

**Rating**: PG-13 (references to sex)

**Fandom**: Xena/Herc.

**Pairing**: Cupid/Strife Cupid/Psyche

**Disclaimer**: I own not a thing.

**Warning**: reference to character death

**Summary**: Strife is allowed to return to Olympus.

**Status**: Complete

**Archive**: AJCS, all others please ask.

**Website**: and 

**Notes**:  Thanks to BlackUmbridge for the excellent beta.

// - designates flashback

* - designates communication through thoughts

***

Cupid tried not to stare, tried not to give himself away.  Could Strife still love him after all of this?  Tartarus, he was going to propose that night.  He glanced at his ex-wife.  Having been married to her as long as he had, he could see the signs of suppressed tension, guilt, and sorrow in her lithe frame.  His 'little accident' had hurt the three of them terribly, and they would not remain the only ones affected by this.  There was Bliss to consider as well as the rest of their family.

*Strife?* his mental voice was hesitant and unsure.

*I still love you, Cupid.*  Strife's mental voice was steady, but Cupid's loving heart could detect the slight nuances that revealed that Strife was just as unsure of welcome as he was.

*I'll always love you, Strife.* His reply was strong and full of barely contained joy.

Wiping the tear tracks from his face, Cupid stood and began to walk forward.  He heard the gasps and realized that many thought he was going to harm his ex-wife.  Even Eris, thought so, and pulled Strife to his feet, trying to get him away from the two former lovers.

Cupid noted her surprise as she realized he was not walking towards Psyche, but instead towards her and her son.  Her confusion was such, that she didn't even resist as he pulled Strife from her grasp.  Pulling his love flush against his body, Cupid, as they say, 'laid one on him.'

Only through trickery could he have ever forgotten this.  With just a simple kiss, Strife could create waves of pleasure throughout his body.  Cupid could feel those cool, slender fingers gripping his arms, then sliding up to pull him even closer.  His wings flapped once, then enclosed them in soft white.  The kiss went on, growing deeper and more passionate by the moment.

The sounds of shock went unnoticed.  The cheers and light-hearted laughter from the few that knew them well were ignored.  To Cupid, the world could have ended and he wouldn't have cared so long as his lips never left Strife's.

***

The End.


End file.
